Around the Island on a magic carpet

Posted on April 18, 2024 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Good Day God!

Monday my wonderful husband, Kit, and I were taken on a “magic carpet” ride to Straub hospital and back. Of course, it was actually by the Royal Kapuna Transport van. But, the ride was made magical by Austin, our driver.

Austin has the gift of caring and listening. Oh my goodness! I had no idea how much I needed to be heard! The words just flooded out of me. Mostly about health — what it is — how to nourish it — and things to do. On and ON I burbled. It never ceases to amaze me how we can tell when someone is “interested” as well as just listening.

Questions and comments flew back and forth as we continued to connect. I found out Austin is a fisherman with an Instagram account. He found out that I LOVE to take photos. In fact, on the way back he pulled over several times so I could get a good shot! That was truly appreciated! In fact, the photo for yesterday’s blog was because Austin took us to the end of La’ie Point so I could see and photograph the rock with the puka in it.

Being with another human being — one who is compassionate and interested — is profoundly healing. I wish more people understood that. I call it “Social Nutrition.” And we need it maybe even more than we need ordinary nutrition. How wonderful it is to receive it. What a blessing it is to have a dear friend who will have a “real” conversation with us. I am blessed with dear friends, beloved daughters, and then magically, a “transit driver” who nourish me.

Tagged with: Royal Kapuna Transit
Posted in being heard into speaking, being together in a compassionate presence, Being With, Compassion, connecting, Hearing, Sharing, the joy of sharing

A Hole . . . in Time

Posted on April 16, 2024 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/kukuihoolua/

Good Day, God

My wonderful husband Kit and I entered a Hole in Time on March 29, 2024 — the day before my 85th birthday. He fell with a house shaking THUMP in his bathroom. By Your Grace, our darling daughter Sandy was visiting us over her Spring Break from teaching 4th grade in Tucson. Even so, we were slow to respond. Kit wanted ONLY to get back in bed. . . a task too far. So Kit and I lay together on the floor listening to Whitney Houston singing One Moment in Time. . . over and over. Kit’s call. After a while Sandy gently pointed out, Dad, we need the firemen to get you back into bed.

I suspect Kit and I really just wanted to drift there on the carpet — staying in One Moment in Time — forever. But finally, Kit, agreed and the firemen came. And then I was able to see reality through their eyes. Yes. . . Kit’s leg was at an unnatural angle. Yes. Yes we should call the ambulance and proceed to Straub’s ER. And then the hole became more familiar. Third time to Straub’s ER. 2022 UTI. 2023 Cellulitis. And now 2024 Broken Hip.

Straub has private rooms and they let the wife stay. This is so important as Kit’s short term memory — especially under stress — is not up to even finding the call button. Sandy was immediately key in getting me to gently ask the staff “might you find a recliner that actually reclines?” And then when our 4 nights were up Sandy asked Kit’s case manager to see if there might be a Rehab place that allows family???

There was! And Sandy and I took turns at the rehab with Kit or at the Marriott North Shore. Again, Sandy’s IDEA! Sandy extended for a second week and then Dave came for a week. Those two weeks helped me in the process of adjusting to this Time and this Place.

Kit and I are now curled up in room 215 at the Kahuku Medical Center. I sleep pretty well in a zero gravity chair (loaned from home by a staff member) right next to Kit’s hospital bed. And meanwhile this HOLE in regular time has deepened and enriched itself. For example, due to an incredible kindness, we were able to see this hole in Kukuiho’olua one of several islets off of La’ie Point that are bird sanctuaries.

I am slowly becoming aware that what are “holes” for me are OPENINGS for YOU.

Tagged with: Holes or Openings, Kahuku Medical Center, Kukuiho'olua, La'ie Point
Posted in a prayer for healing, beauty, connecting, daughters, family, family visits, gratitude, healing, LOVE, opening, Shocks, Surprises

Turning a Corner and WOW!

Posted on January 27, 2024 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Good Morning, God

Last evening, my wonderful husband, Kit, and I were just returning from dinner at a Greek restaurant. I was wanting their rack of lamb. Coming home we turned the corner and BAM! We were HIT with a sunset that overwhelmed us with Your Glory!

I found a spot where I could park and drink in the JOY that was filing me. Prudent — as photographing while at the wheel is unwise. And I pondered the difference between a slow paced observation of a marvelous sunset — which I have enjoyed many times — and a sudden WHAMO!

Beauty, lovingkindness, the goodness of our fellow creatures, surround us ALL THE TIME. But, I do not often open myself to notice. I am busy going about my own life . . . filled with my own personal clutter. . . which blinds me. Then I turn a corner and SEE!!!!

It is to laugh. LOOK UP! OPEN MY HEART! LOVE!

Or maybe it is just to receive? I AM LOVED. WE ARE LOVED. AS WE ARE. EACH ONE OF US. Will we STOP? OPEN? AND RECEIVE? Will I receive?

So Now I am beginning my day with the Morning Prayer of 1) welcoming this new day — accepting all that comes to me 2) welcoming my full self . . . as I am . . . all corners. 3) offering the day and myself back to YOU.

Posted in Awe, connecting, gifts and giftings, God's gifts, Heavens declare the Glory of God, Hope as a gift from God, JOY, LOVE, people as gifts, simple joys of daily life, The Endless Flow of God's Love, The Flow of God's Love, the gift of persistent love, The gift to SEE others, the joy of sharing

A Nudge from the Spirit — and Mahalia Jackson

Posted on January 15, 2024 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

American singer Mahalia Jackson (1911 – 1972) sings at the March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, August 28, 1963. Sitting at lower right is Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King (1929 – 1968) and his wife Coretta Scott King, between them is activist Whitney Young (1921 – 1971). (Photo by Bob Parent/Getty Images)

Good Evening, God

I just wanted to share a bit of back story about Martin Luther King Jr. and his I HAVE A DREAM speech. Apparently, King had decided to downplay his identity as a preacher and try to get across some serious political points. The speech had been worked on by a number of advisors and after the first several paragraphs it clearly it wasn’t going well.

At that point, his close friend and gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson yelled out: Tell them about the Dream, Martin. TELL THEM ABOUT THE DREAM! She was sitting down at the time. She wasn’t at the microphone as she is shown in this photo. But her voice carried! And he heard her!

He turned and looked at her — pushed his prepared text aside — grabbed ahold of the podium — and opened up to the flow of the Spirit. THAT great extemporaneous speech just flowed out . . . and into history.

I wanted to share that little factoid, God, because I think it is important to realize that we have Mahalia Jackson to thank for that speech. She was open to Your Spirit. And she SPOKE OUT! Her voice seemed to set Martin Luther King Jr. FREE — free to share what was in his heart. She was an encourager . . . actually, she was an exhorter! Thanks be, to her, and to YOU.

Posted in connecting

A much needed backstory on Thanksgiving

Posted on December 27, 2023 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Good Afternoon, God

After reading this article in Atlas Obscura I was so moved that I wanted to share! The information is from Steven Peters who runs Smoke Sygnals, a Mashpee Wampanoag creative agency that has advised on numerous historical exhibits. OK! I am getting this information from someone who should know. And now they are not just labeled “Indians” they are known by their name — the Wampanoag Nation. Apparently they consisted of around 69 villages up and down New England with upwards of a few thousand per village. And they had a government structure with delegates that met regularly to make policies and rules for the best interest in everyone.

One more factor — one that made an empty village (Patuxet)for the Pilgrims — was the Great Dying. That began in 1616 right off of Patuxet with the landing of French fishing ship with a sick crew. Within 3 years over 100,000 Wampanoag were dead. I cannot even imagine the impact on the people.

But back to the arrival of the Pilgrims. First of all, how was there a “translator” Tisquantum to help the Pilgrims? It seems that Tisquantum had been captured as a slave in 1614 and sold in Spain, then going to England. How did a “slave” manage to return home in 1619? Such resourcefulness impressed me!

Next, how was it the Wampanoag Nation both let them stay AND helped them. Peters said that his people were having border incursions near Rhode Island from the Narragansett at that time and may have seen the Pilgrims as an ally. Still 90 warriors “visited” for three days — making a show of strength.

All of this delighted me. Now I have NAMES for these people — not LABELS! Names — groups names, and individual names tend to foster respect from one human being to another. LABELS TO NOT.

The next delight was that I was just now (at 84) LEARNING their names. This could not have happened without a sea change in how we are viewing indigenous peoples — but also a willingness to see and acknowledge the crimes of our ancestors. YES! YES! We are just beginning to see the extent of what we have done and are doing.

Sigh, I just talked again with a friend of many years whom I had unwittingly harmed. I say unwittingly. But, in looking back — I am appalled I hadn’t understood how harmful my actions were. Taking a good look at oneself — either as an individual or as a Nation — is not for cowards.

Aaah, I realize that seeing myself would be even closer to impossible if I did not perceive myself set in the context of Your Forgiving and Compassionate Love, God. You love me AS I AM . . . and only seem to desire me to love others AS THEY ARE. HARD?

But, the more I can see myself with Your Eyes . . . the more I can slowly develop a heart of compassion . . . for myself . . . and all the rest of us. Thank You.

Tagged with: history, pilgrims, plymouth-colony, Thanksgiving, The Great Dying, The Pilgrims, Tisquantum, Wampanoag
Posted in being FORGIVEN by God, Compassion, connecting, Forgiven!, Forgiving, LOVE, self care as self compassion and humility, self-compassion, The Endless Flow of God's Love, the gift of persistent love

It is never too late . . .

Posted on November 8, 2023 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Good Evening God,

I have felt nudged to write this blog for weeks. Only, I felt inadequate. Sigh, but I doubt I will get MORE adequate anytime soon. So here goes!

It is never too late to apologize. We had a friend, Chuck, who 50 years after serving in WWII was having nightmares. A white ghostly figure would hover over the foot of his bed. Night after terrifying night!!! His wife finally persuaded him to see a doctor/therapist. It turned out that he had been in the Battle of the Bulge, in a foxhole, when he heard the sound of boots crunching on snow. He knew it must be The Enemy — because they had snow boots and our troops didn’t. He looked up and there in a white winter camouflage uniform was The Enemy. Shots rang out. And he woke up in a London hospital.

What to do? The Enemy was dead . . . most likely by his hand. His heart grieved. With the help of his therapist he wrote a letter to that soldier — expressing his sorrow and regret. Then he went to a park and put his letter on the grill and burned it up. Watching . . . as the smoke carried his apology up up and away.

He never had another nightmare. For a video story of this I did years ago — click here.

And as for me? I am still finding THINGS in my Mothering Journey to SEE and FEEL and WEEP over. Mostly these have to do with our beloved Patty who died at 18 of a rare form of lymphoma. But, as with our friend Chuck, it is not too late to finish up the SEE, FEEL, and WEEP by apologizing.

Perhaps, though, apologizing is too small a word. This is a process and it takes time — maybe a lifetime. It has been decades since our daughter died. And I am still finding/seeing things I failed to do. It takes a lot of trust in Your forgiving love, God, to even be able to see and acknowledge these failures. Seeing my failures hurts. Weeping hurts. But weeping cleanses. And I truly want to be cleansed.

Tagged with: Seeing myself with weeping
Posted in apologizing, Cleansing, connecting, Failure as Teacher, Failures, Forgiving, Mistakes

Movements of the Heart

Posted on October 23, 2023 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

The two of us at the Royal Hawaiian Band concert last Friday at the Iolani Palace grounds.

Good Morning, God

It all started when a dear friend told me that a minister we know emailed that the millennials see Yoga as their “church”. And her daughter — a civil engineer and yoga fan — agreed! It got me thinking!!! What if we could make church more like yoga?

Mind you, God, I have dropped out of yoga after several classes. So, it is not as if I know much. Aha, but, thus I am all the more free to imagine.

Movements! When I think of yoga I think of Movements! Movements to better align us. Movements to improve the flow of blood and qi through us. Hmm . . . what might be something similar that the church could offer? First thought was the hand motions that go with many of the hymns for kids.

But, then it came to me — we have Movements of the Heart — to offer. Or, more to the point, I want to root around and ponder WHAT are the various movements of the Heart that might benefit me? My wonderful husband Kit and I are in the Penultimate Stage of Life.

The penultimate stage is one in which we are still able to welcome Hope — and have the energy to consider making Choices. The Last Stage seems to me to be pretty much out of our control except, I hope, the most basic choices to choose TRUST and to CHOOSE LOVE.

Still, the first movement of the heart — OPENING — came to me as a bit of a surprise. We have a new minister and have been gently urged to wear name tags. Sigh. . . .but You gave me a Nudge and so I prepared name tags. Along with wearing the name tag I experienced a strong desire to “know” people’s names. And not just their names — but to know Them. It was only afterwards that I was able to see how “closed” to the people around me that my heart had been before.

Having experienced an Opening of my Heart I realized how happy it made me — joyful even! And my heart seems to have stayed more open to You, too. It definitely realigned something inside me! So now I am praying — asking for Your Help — about what might the NEXT Movement of the Heart be.

Posted in Beloved Community, connecting, LOVE, Names, opening, The daily details of love, The Endless Flow of God's Love, the gift of persistent love, Welcoming

Steps going up toward the Light

Posted on September 20, 2023 by a moment with god — Leave a comment

Good Evening, God

I saw this photography in the current issue of the Smithsonian. It is of the basement area (where the workers lived) of the Alhambra. My wonderful husband Kit just said, “That is the gloomiest photo I have seen in a long time!”

I found it riveting! This shows the dark area where the workers, cooks, bakers, cleaners, soldiers, etc lived and worked. And I wondered how often they saw the elegance and beauty of the world above? So what captured my eye? Perhaps it was the contrast? Or was it just the steps going up toward the LIGHT? To me the image seemed to call me . . . UP! UP INTO LIGHT.

Sigh . . . it is all about focus, isn’t it, God. I am looking at the light with delight! But, as I pause and ponder I can feel the semi-dark the folks below worked in. Why semi-dark? Because LIGHT cost money. And while there was no end of money for the rulers up above — that was NOT the case for the workers below.

Hmmm. This has pretty much been the norm. March 25, 1911 the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire killed 146 workers — mostly women. And that got enough publicity the laws were passed to improve conditions. But, the fight is still going on. Workers have unionized to better pressure the owners of factories to improve safety conditions. I am thinking of a friend and his experience in steel mills.

But, if the “light” of publicity is not present — there is no pressure. Why? Well, we humans organize in layers — hierarchies. And the “profit” motive means that the intermediate people have nothing to gain and everything to lose by pushing for greater safety. Greater safety has immediate costs. It may well save money in the long run. But, by then the safety advocates are out of a job.

Truth tellers — are often out of a job. Funny thing, I just watched a video by Gabor Mate on how people who cannot — or do not say NO — have their bodies say NO for them.

Authenticity seems to be essential to our health.

As individuals. And as a society.

Tagged with: Gabor Mate
Posted in authenticity, health, Light, power, The power of images, The Power of Naming, The power of Story, Truth, Truth Tellers

Dysfunctional Beliefs

Posted on September 12, 2023 by a moment with god — 2 Comments

Good Day, God

This morning, I caught myself in a dysfunctional belief. I had told myself “Just one game of solitaire!” Almost immediately, I found that I was just about to finish a second game! Sigh, in the past I might have just said, “Oh well . . . too late . . . I blew it!” And I would have continued on and on and on.

But this morning — because our beloved daughter, Sandy, and I have been discussing Self Respect and how to build it — I thought, NO! I am going to STOP.

As I thought about what had happened, it came to me that I had been missing a “Category”. The category of “I just caught myself in the act of breaking my word to myself.” That is a very special category. It changed the BE PERFECT or GIVE UP mindset. It gave me both an opportunity and permission to see what I was doing and chose to RESET. It gave me a PLACE to STAND in which I was permitted to STOP. Seeing it as a Category — helps me see its POWER. How had I missed this useful category?

Probably because I believed that once I had broken my word to myself — it was TOO LATE!

The belief that it can be TOO LATE is as Dysfunctional as the belief that I don’t matter, that NOTHING MATTERS. That was a negative belief I identified years ago. And the simple act of NAMING it as a belief really helped me. Thus my delight in finding this new Opportunity to Stop, category. I am hoping, God, that a better name for it will appear. But, just as it is — it really helps me!

In the story The Grey Cloud I attributed the dysfunctional belief that “I don’t matter” to a Negative Entity. It has become a joke to say “The Devil made me do it.” But I find the possible existence of negative forces to be profoundly useful. I do not use it as an excuse — but as an additional way of understanding what is happening in our world.

I am pretty sure that our current culture is awash with dysfunctional beliefs. Please, God, help me find more of them!

Posted in connecting, dysfunctional beliefs, gusts of hopelessness, hope, Hope as a gift from God, It is Never too late, Self Respect, stopping

The Heavens Declare the GLORY of God

Posted on September 10, 2023 by a moment with god — 1 Comment

Good Morning, God

Kit and I were out to watch the sun rise this morning at Island Brew. And we saw the brightest rainbow I have seen in a long time.

At first it was just a suggestion of a rainbow.

I love rainbows, God. But they have the added plus of being a “reminder” to You. In Genesis 9:14-15 You say:
“When I send clouds over the earth
and a rainbow appears in the sky
I will remember my promise to you
and to all other living creatures.
Never again will I let floodwaters
destroy all life.””

In these Times, God, it is good to ponder this promise. Alas, I do note that You do not say it won’t happen again. You just qualify it — it will not destroy ALL LIFE. Ah, well.

I feel such JOY when beholding a rainbow — or the sun in its daily rising or setting — or even just beautiful clouds. Truly, the Heavens do declare Your Glory.

Thank You, God, for the gift of life — here on Planet Earth.

Posted in beauty, delight, God's Light, Heavens declare the Glory of God, JOY, Light shining through, simple joys of daily life